Saturday, October 15, 2016

Carolyn - Generations of Reflections

Taos Pueblo Storyteller

My quilt is based on treasured memories of my 3
grandchildren and 2 recently “adopted” Karenni-Burmese grandchildren.I love the Southwestern pottery style called
“Storytellers” and “Singing Mothers,” and am blessed to have a small collection
of these clay pieces.Storytellers became famous through the work of Helen
Cordero, a Native American from the Cochiti Pueblo near Santa Fe.In 1964, she made her first clay “storyteller,”
based on her grandfather who passed on oral traditions to tribal
children. Cordero soon became famous for
her Storyteller pottery.Many pieces are now in
the Smithsonian Native American Museum in Washington, D.C.

Our family had the honor of visiting Cochiti in the 1970’s
during their normally “closed” Corn Festival.We were invited to join our longtime friends from Santa Fe, who had befriended
this tribe.One of the potters and her
mother prepared a traditional meal for us.Afterwards, we were invited into the daughter’s home to see her pottery.As we left, she graciously gave me a piece
she had made.Thus began my love affair
with Storyteller/Singing Mother pottery.

As children, my husband and I remember family stories our
grandparents told, and we passed this tradition on to our children and grandchildren. It was always fun to have little ones jump in
bed with us early in the morning with pleas of “tell us another story.”

My quilt was made with hand-painted, batik and cotton
fabrics.In the quilt, I am depicted as
the Storyteller surrounded by all 5 of my little ones.We sit on hand- painted grass filled with flower
buds.A stone path leads from our adobe
home to the grassy area. The oldest boy holds a drum.The next in line, a girl, props up on one arm
against my feet, which are extra large to signify wisdom.A boy sits in my lap, and I am holding the 2
youngest ones in my arms. I used 4 layers – a batik, cotton batting, Timtex and a cotton
fabric for the back.The background and
grass were free-motion stitched in a zigzag pattern on my new Bernina sit-down
longarm.Tiny pieces of fabric fused
with Wonder Under were cut into figural and clothing shapes, colored with
pencils and pens, fused in place and stitched with Aurufil thread on my
domestic Bernina. The binding is a Kaffe Fassett print that reminded me of vivid
Native American colors and geometric designs.

9 comments:

Carolyn, the charm and the symbolism of this quilt are both, truly, breath-taking! WHAT a great way to interpret this theme. Having seen your wonderful pottery, I for one KNOW how well you have rendered the figures in fabric!

What a wonderful story Quilt! I love that this folklore was a part of your children's heritage. Folklore and folk art are two things that I am drawn to. You did a great job of interpreting the family figures, and colors are wonderful.

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The Material Mavens

We are a group of art quilters who come from various parts of the United States, from the East coast and then south to Arkansas and Texas. We were inspired by the original Twelve by Twelve international art quilting group.

Beginning in September, 2011, we started posting our 12"x 12" art quilts, which were based on themes chosen in turn by our members. For Round One, we posted quilts every two months, always on the 15th of the designated months.

Round Two of The Material Mavens began in October, 2014. Some changes were made: quilts were posted every three months, and the quilts could be be either 12"x 12" or rectangular ones measuring 11" x 14", either horizontal or vertical in orientation.

Round Three of The Material Mavens will begin in July, 2018. Again, changes have been made. Now those members who wish to stay affiliated with the group are free to post quilts every time or every now and then. Two, our blog administrator collected suggested themes from the members who wanted to remain affiliated. These themes were then pulled at random from a "hat," and they were then assigned in order for the posting dates. Since we had 13 members who wanted to remain, we will be posting quilts every 3 months until 2021! This date is significant and appropriate, because 2021 will be the 10th year that our group has been in existence.